Seven-armed candlestick (church)

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Seven-armed chandelier in Essen Minster

A seven-armed chandelier can be found as part of the church furnishings in some, mostly medieval, churches.

symbolism

The Braunschweig chandelier
Candlesticks in Viborg Cathedral
Candlesticks in the Nikolaikirche in Tallinn

Menorah

The seven-armed candlesticks refer to the Jewish menorah , the seven-armed candlestick of the Old Testament Temple of Solomon , which is mentioned in the 2nd Book of Moses ( 2 Mos 37.17-24  EU ). Mediated through the illumination , the seven-armed candlestick found its way into Christian art. During the Carolingian era , replicas of this Jewish temple device were made, the oldest surviving example of which is the Essen candlestick from around 1000.

Jesse tree

Medieval theologians like Rupert von Deutz reinterpreted the seven-armed chandelier in the Christian sense as an image of Christ . The chandelier with its plant-like embellishments grows like a tree ( Tree of Jesse ) in height, which the Tree of Jesse springs. According to the prophecy of Isaiah ( Isa 11 : 1-3  EU ), the radix Jesse (root, trunk of the Isai) originates from the virga (scion), on whose flos (flower, Jesus Christ) the sevenfold Spirit of God will rest. It is also possible to interpret the chandelier as lignum vitae , the wood of life or the tree of life , which symbolizes resurrection and eternal life. It is fitting that some of the candlesticks were apparently donated as memorials .

Seven number

The number seven is of great importance in Christian symbolism and refers, among other things, to the completion of creation. It includes the numbers four (four evangelists and four winds) and three. In the Revelation of John , Christ appears with seven golden candlesticks ( Rev 1.12  EU ), which symbolize the seven churches ( Rev 1.20  EU ) to which John writes. Christ carries the keys of death and hell in the vision. The number seven can still be connected with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven sacraments as well as with the Old Testament seven “pillars of wisdom” in the Book of Proverbs ( Prov 9,1  EU ).

Examples

The most important examples in German-speaking countries are

More medieval seven-armed candlesticks can be found in

There are modern seven-armed candlesticks

literature

  • Peter Bloch : Seven-armed candlesticks in Christian churches. In: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch. Vol. 23, pp. 55-190 (1961). On-line

Individual evidence

  1. https://www.stift-klosterneuburg.at/stift-und-orden/geschichte/zeittafel/
  2. Bloch 1961, p. 182
  3. Martin Stünkel The Bevenser Siebenstern , Siebenstern-Druckerei Schliekau, no year, 3118 (!) Bad Bevensen
  4. Information about the seven-star chandelier
  5. Bloch 1961, p. 188
  6. Silvio Leydi, The Trivulzio candelabrum in the sixteenth century: documents and hypotheses , in Burlington magazine , vol. 153, nº 1294, 2011, pp. 4-12.
  7. Bloch 1961, p. 188
  8. Bloch 1961, p. 186
  9. Bloch 1961, p. 184
  10. Bloch 1961, p. 188
  11. Bloch 1961, p. 183
  12. Bloch 1961, p. 189
  13. Bloch 1961, p. 187
  14. Bloch 1961, p. 181
  15. Bloch 1961, p. 189
  16. Bloch 1961, p. 184
  17. Bloch 1961, p. 187
  18. Bloch 1961, p. 184
  19. Bloch 1961, p. 189
  20. Bloch 1961, p. 188
  21. Bloch 1961, p. 189

Web links

Commons : Seven-Armed Candlestick (Church)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files